


I got your photograph, but baby I need more than that

by endlessnarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Narry - Freeform, harry and niall - Freeform, idk - Freeform, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 22:10:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2085021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlessnarry/pseuds/endlessnarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>basically Niall doesn't do relationships and Harry is kind of a photographer. (I suck at plots)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I got your photograph, but baby I need more than that

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I post something on this website, and it's the first time I write a oneshot, so this may be really really bad. I am warning you.
> 
> also, sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language.

He is buzzing. Every fiber of his body is shaking along the rhythm of the music blaring through the stereo in his living room. He closes his eyes and throws his right hand in the air while he sips his cold Guinness, losing himself in the familiar feeling of having so many people around him and what makes everything ten times better is that tonight he is not attending just another party. No. Tonight is _his_ night, everybody is here to celebrate his 21st birthday and it feels so good. 

He is used to be at the center of attention, he is popular and he knows it, but now everybody is smiling at him and wishing him happy birthday and keeps giving him drinks and throwing themselves at him that now he only has to decide who will be the lucky boy (or girl) to have a piece of him tonight.

He feels a hand on his waist and, as he turns around to see whose this hand is and maybe flirt with them, a flash blinds him for a second before he finds himself staring at a tall boy with curly hair and really big hands holding a Nikon up to his face.

 

“Remember when I told you you wouldn't forget this night?” Zayn shouts in his hear trying to overtake the music, his hand leaving Niall's side to go on the blond's shoulder “ _That's_ what I was talking about!” Zayn grins at him and Niall grins back and from then on his night is a mix of flashes and drinks and people.

 

-

 

“Our birthday princess is here!” Louis announces at everybody in the little cafe as Niall takes a seat at their usual table. Most people look at them annoyed but there are a few ones that raise a hand or nod their heads to greet him. See? He is popular.

 

“Fuck off Tommo” he groans taking off his sunglasses to rub his eyes with the palm of his hands.

 

“C'mon big boy! You've slept for three days!” Louis continues with his high pitched voice that sometimes can be very annoying.

 

“I was hungover” he grits out, glaring at his friends for making him leave his bed on a Tuesday morning when he had nothing to do but sleep.

 

“So, do you remember anything from the party?” Zayn asks him mischievously and Niall suddenly feels something like fear in the pit of his stomach because he actually doesn't remember a single thing from that night and these last three days he spent in bed with a throbbing headache, he tried to figure out what happened but he guessed he drank too much. That was is actual plan but now that he thinks of it, it wasn't really brilliant of him because he is known to pull out some crazy shit when he is drunk.

Once he was arrested because there were fucking cameras in that street and he had taken a stroll. Naked.

From the look on his face it's pretty obvious that he doesn't remember a single thing about his birthday, “Told you that the photographer would come in handy” Zayn smirks feeling overly proud of himself for having such a good idea.

 

“Yeah yeah” Niall says unimpressed even though he thinks that indeed Zayn had a good idea or else he would have to go around, subtly trying to understand if he did or said something compromising. Usually he can understand it pretty quickly from the way people look at him the first time he sees them after the party, and since he hasn't seen anyone yet -apart from Zayn and Louis, but they don't count- he is safe. For now.

“Who is him by the way?”

 

“Uh?”

“The photographer”

 

“Oh. I don't know” Zayn states like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

 

“How the fuck are we supposed to get our pics if we don't know who took them?” Niall says leaning over the table and throwing his hands in the air in frustration. _A really good idea Zayn._

 

“Dude relax' Louis leans back against his chair taking a sip of his tea -when the hell did he get it?- “Listen, we exchanged mails and I told him to write to us when he has them printed so we can arrange a meeting and going to get 'em, how's that sound?” he is smirking now, that know-it-all smirk that always makes Niall's hands twitch to slap him because whenever Louis smirks like this he is always right.

 

“Okay, yes. Good. And he didn't tell you his name?... Not even in his e-mail address?” he doesn't know why he wants to know his name so badly, anyway he thinks it's pretty normal wanting to know the name of someone who owns pictures of you. Pictures that could be compromising. This way he could blackmail him. Or everyone who was at the party and then nobody will ever go to one of Niall's party because of that.

Okay maybe he is exaggerating but the point is that he is right worrying over the identity of this mysterious boy.

 

“Dunno...something like Haz..how was it Zayn?”

 

“Wait, just a second” Zayn takes his phone out of a pocket of his jeans, unlocking it and looking through his mailbox. ['](mailto:%27hazzabear@gmail.com) _[hazzabear@gmail.com](mailto:%27hazzabear@gmail.com) _ now Niall, if you can guess his name from this I swear I'll give you a hundred pounds.' the dark haired boy says challenging him, and as much as Niall is always up for a challenge he can only sighs and pouts down at the table.

 

“Ow, why the sad look Ni? Besides, did you get laid?” Louis asks wriggling his eyebrows, and as much as Niall has the urge to punch him sometimes, his friend always has a way to make him smile or -like right now- to put a smug look on his face.

“Ooh tell us about it! Tell us tell us! Or else I am going to die out of boredom!” Louis says acting all drama queen with the palm of his left hand pressed against his chest, stretching his right arm towards Niall in a _help me_ way.

They usually tell each other everything about their 'bedtime adventures' as they like to call them because they don't mean anything special for them, just a good shag. Well, expect for Zayn. He has the 'right of silence' since when he hit two months of relationship with Perrie and one night he told them that he didn't feel comfortable telling them what he and his girlfriend did because things were getting serious -still are-. Sometimes Niall and Louis tease him about it, calling him 'married man' but both, deep down, think that the couple is very very cute.

 

“I would tell you if I remembered something” Zayn snorts -probably still thinking that his idea was just _amazing-_ “the only thing I can tell you is that I got laid because I woke up without clothes on and I can tell you that it was a girl because I found lipstick on my pillow, a bra on the floor, and long red scratches on my back.' he says leaning against the back of his chair with a smug smirk plastered on his face because even if he doesn't remember it, it was one hell of a night he thinks.

 

-

 

“C'mon mate! She has been like, having sex with you in her mind for the last twenty minutes!” Josh half whispers/half yells/half groans gesturing with his hand somewhere behind Niall. He turns around to look at her and now she is giggling with her two friends. She turns to send him a sly smile and then goes back to giggling.

She is pretty nice and Niall is not one to turn down a bit of fun but he has to finish work first, he doesn't want Paul to get mad at him.

 

He turns back to Josh, leaning his back against the counter “Guess I have to wait until I finish” he sighs.

 

Josh lets out a frustrated sound like he is the one who is risking losing a shag “Just go over there and bring her coffee or something and tell her to wait...what? Thirty minutes?”

 

“I suppose I could do that...are you sure Paul won't get mad? You know he doesn't like when I flirt too much..”

 

“Yes! He is in his office, he won't see anything! Go get her tiger!' Josh exclaims, shoving a Cappuccino in his hands making Niall laugh because _what the hell is his problem?_ He puts his smug I-am-hot-and-I-know-you-want-me look on his face and just as he is about to go over that table a deep, raspy voice makes him stop.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Niall turns around and he silently thanks God that he was leaning against the counter or else he would have dropped the hot drink in his hands. In front of him there is one of the hottest boys he has ever seen. He is tall, brown curly hair under a grey fedora hat, eyes so green and so big that seem so innocent, pink plump lips, golden tanned skin. Niall can't see what the boy is wearing apart from the fact that he has a tight black t-shirt and a red checkered shirt with a Nikon hung on his neck. Sunglasses and wallet on the counter. Oh. This boy has really big hands too.

When their eyes meet the tall boy blushes and looks down and Niall already knows that he will do anything to make the boy blush again because there is something about the way his cheeks redden that he finds already addicting.

 

“Yes?” He says smiling at the boy, that girl long forgotten.

 

“Uhm...can I have a chocolate muffin and a small caramel macchiato, please?”

 

“Of course, what's your name?” Niall asks taking a plastic cup while opening the black sharpie with his mouth. He sees the boy looking at him confused and then kind of...disappointed? but then he looks at his hands while mumbling “Harry” and, as Niall writes it down thinking that _Harry_ is a name that suits this boy, he realizes why Harry was looking strangely at him: he is the only costumer. _Jeez Niall, you're smart_ he thinks bitterly.

 

“Here you are..Harry.” He says testing the boy's name on his lips, and from the way the boy blushes he thinks it sounds more than right.

 

“Thank you.” He whispers. All this mumbling and whispering and blushing are driving Niall a bit insane he must say because, let's face it, Niall does consider himself good looking. He knows he is fit, that he has a good smile and that his blue eyes complements his features. He also knows that he can flirt and that in some cases his Irish accent does the trick but hell! If he looked like this boy -Harry- he would be the most confident person in this world because nobody can deny anything to a face like his.

 

The boy - _Harry, dammit Niall!_ \- coughs and that's what brings Niall to reality. Harry - _finally_ \- looks a bit uncomfortable and the blush on his cheeks keeps darkening and that's when Niall realizes that he hasn't made a move since he handed Harry his coffee and muffin. He just stood there in front of him -probably looking at him like some sort of creep or, worse, like a kid in front of an ice-cream, and when he thinks that things couldn't go any worse with this god in front of him Harry opens his mouth to speak.

 

“I-I'm sorry....it's just...I...I don't know how much is it...” he stutters while he keeps opening his wallet while going through his banknotes and then closing it just to repeat his actions again and again.

 

Wow. Wow just wow. All Niall wants to do right now is bang his head, as forcefully as he can, against the counter. Repeatedly. Now he looks like some creepy asshole who only thinks about his money. “No...No I didn't want your money like, yeah...I mean you need to pay but I wasn't staring at you for the money..I mean, I wasn't staring at you..I just...' _oh please please let the ground swallow me, please!_ He offers Harry an apologetic smile and as he is about to turn around and tell Josh to take over he hears Harry _giggling,_ hiding his mouth behind his hand and looking up at him with those beaming green eyes and fuck, Niall could go on his knee and ask him to be his husband.

Harry is just too damn adorable.

 

Niall smiles awkwardly scratching the back of his neck and when he sees that Harry has finished his drink and his muffin and is looking at him with his wallet open Niall thinks that this is a good moment to act normal and tell him the price before he gets lost in his daydream again. “It's five pounds.”

 

Harry hands him the banknote and then he puts the wallet in the back pocket of his jeans,puts his sunglasses on -damn he looks hot- and then he says goodbye before turning around and leave the coffee shop.

 

“Dude you let the girl go!” Josh says behind him sounding frustrated. Niall completely forgot the existence of his friend during the last twenty minutes or so but now he is too busy staring at Harry's bum and at his endless, perfect legs.

 

Fuck.

 

-

 

A week. A whole week passed since the last -and first- time Niall saw Harry. He tried to find something about the boy on every possible social network and even asked some of his friends if they happened to know a curly haired boy with green eyes that goes by the name of Harry. Let's just say that by the end of the week everything Niall has is a name. _Harry._ And let's just say that Niall is a tiny bit frustrated. First of all he looked for the boy in every room and every street and every single corner he passed by -nothing- and he waited every day for the boy to walk into the coffee shop where he works -again nothing-.

Second, Niall is not the type of guy that gets desperate over such things, he just isn't. And the fact that a boy he only saw for twenty minutes is driving him insane it's not good. It's the first time that he is interested in someone this way, he usually just wants to get in their pants and leave the following morning, but no. Of course this time it's different. He can't exactly say that during the past week he never thought of having Harry screaming his name beneath him, that would be a lie, but he can say that he also spent a good amount of time thinking about the boy's blush and his eyes and lazy days on the couch and a lot of cuddling. And this is the first time that Niall thinks about those things.

 

And it's just _obvious_ that now that he actually wants to know this person, said person seems to disappear. This must be Karma finally getting him.

 

“Don't think too much pretty boy. Save your few neurons that Uni starts in less than two weeks.” Louis interrupts his train of thoughts sitting down on the grass beside him. A football ball in between his legs.

 

Niall groans because he doesn't want to think about University. And because he was content just sitting there and thinking about Harry. And because he just remembered the reason why he is here: he has to play football with his friends. Niall is about to tell Louis to fuck off just because, when Louis spots their friends and starts waving at them. It's better if he tries to be less grumpy he supposes.

 

“Hi guys, what's up?” Says Alex plopping down next to Louis while Sean and Mark sit between him and Niall closing the circle.

 

“Nothing much” Niall shrugs “Where are Will and the others?” he asks because might as well starts playing right away then, maybe it could be helpful to get Harry off of his mind. _Do not start again, Niall._

 

“They'll be here in five minutes or so, I think” Sean replies “by the way, I never complimented you for your party. It was brilliant mate!” He finishes patting Niall on the back and he can't help but feeling proud of himself.

 

“Yeah, but he doesn't remember anything” Louis says pointing at him and everybody starts laughing -not Niall though.

 

“Well I would have been surprised if he did! He was completely smashed, do you remember when he came to us and asked whose was the party because 'he just had to compliment the kid, this is fucking brilliant!' “ Sean asks Mark quoting what Niall said.

 

“Yes!” Mark shouts in between laughter “and then when we told him it was his he just stared at us for two minutes with his mouth wide open and then he kept running to everyone saying that it was his party and that he didn't know he was so brilliant”

 

“Oh God! And then when people complimented him he just kissed them!... Didn't he kiss you Alex?”

 

“Yes you two kissed!”

 

“What?!”

 

“No way”

 

“....”

 

“Oh my God this is hilarious!” Louis throws his head back laughing so hard he has to grip his stomach because it hurts, along with Sean and Mark while Alex looks uncomfortable and Niall just wants to die. See? This is why he doesn't like not remembering anything, he always ends up in situations like this one and he is totally unprepared.

 

“I'm sorry if I kissed you mate, didn't mean to” He says and after the words leave his mouth he wants to die a little bit more.

 

“Nah it's okay, we were both drunk” Alex says giving him a reassuring smile and _thank God_ Will calls for them so they can start playing and stop talking.

 

 

Niall wonders why he always offers to go find the ball whenever Sean's team loses and he kicks it away -far far away- because of his frustration. Niall and him were in the same team and while Louis' team was too focused on cheering on him, and Niall's team was too focused on saying how good Louis is at this game, Sean kicked the ball in the little wood beside the football field and Niall huffed and started running towards it.

Now he curses himself for doing it because this is not even his ball and after all he just played for more than a hour too, he is sweaty and tired and he doesn't really feel like looking for Louis' ball. So he sighs and turns around ready to go home and take a shower.

 

“If you are looking for a red and white ball it's just behind that bush in front of you.” Niall gasps startled by the voice because he thought he was alone in this wood. He looks around to see who spoke but he can't see anyone. Okay now he is worried. The voice sounded the same as Harry's and is Niall starting to have hallucinations now?

 

He goes to said bushes and -surprise, surprise- he finds the ball. At least he is not hearing things. “Thanks, but...where are you?” he asks and looks around another time to see if the owner of the voice is magically appeared but no such luck.

 

“Up here” the voice says and when Niall looks up he only sees the sky which is starting to get orange from the sunset. Then he looks a bit more down and that's when he sees black skinny jeans and a brown boot hanging down from the branch of a tree. He approaches the tree and lets his eyes travel all the way up to the boy's endless leg and his long slim torso until they finally set on a pair of green ones which are smiling at him.

 

“Hi” Harry says smiling and blushing -oh God- at him.

 

Niall takes a moment to admire the boy before responding. Harry is lying down on a branch which is, Niall estimates, one meter above his head. He has one leg bent and the other one -the one that Niall saw- dangling down in the air, a brown leather bag lays under his head and now he has his Nikon on his chest which is covered by a dark green checkered shirt.

 

_Now I think it's best if you actually say something and not make a fool of yourself. Play it cool Niall._

 

“Hey, what are you doing up there?” he says flashing Harry his heartbreaking grin and if anything Harry blushes more, his eyes looking away from Niall's.

 

“Well, I came here to listen to music and then I opened my eyes and there was this ray of sunshine passing through the leaves and it really inspired me so I took out my Nikon and started taking photos and I realized that I really like the prospective from up here, you know, sometimes you have to change it to see things in another... oh God I'm rambling I'm sorry”

 

Niall is about to tell him that he has nothing to be sorry for because his rambling is adorable and Niall could stay here listening to him rambling until they both grow old, when Harry takes his camera in his hands, sits on the branch and then he lets himself fall backwards so the only thing Niall can say -read: shout frightened- is “Harry!” and he runs towards him with his arms stretched out -the ball long forgotten- ready to catch him. But there's no-one to catch.

 

Harry is there giggling quietly to himself and beaming at Niall upside down and Niall wants to kiss him and at the same time tell him off because he just lost three years of life with the way Harry scared him. When Harry senses that something is wrong with Niall he stop giggling and stays there looking at Niall curiously, tilting his head to the right.

There's not more than three feet between them, and they are looking straight at each other's eyes and Niall thinks that the sight before him is endearing and he needs to stop thinking about kissing Harry. But the boy is looking at him in a way that makes him look like a curious kitten and nothing can stop Niall from smiling fondly at him and when Harry smiles back, Niall's smile turns into a full laugh.

 

He doesn't even know why he is laughing but he thinks it's because he is relieved. Relieved that Harry didn't get hurt. Relieved that after a week full of searching he has finally found the boy when he wasn't even thinking about him. Relieved that everything seems so easy right now.

He stops laughing when he hears a click. There he is, Harry, with his Nikon up to his face taking pictures of Niall.

 

“Told you it was all about changing prospective.” He says smiling sheepishly at the blonde. Niall thinks he is in love.

 

-

 

Niall also thinks that there is somebody out there that really hates him. Like, wants to turns his life into pure hell. It's been more than three weeks since the last time he saw Harry in that wood and Niall can't take it anymore. He just can't, he knows he'll go crazy if he spends another day dreaming of those blushing cheeks and green eyes without seeing them for real. The problem is that now Uni has started and he doesn't have much time to do anything apart from going to classes and his job at the coffee shop and partying. So yeah. He keeps waiting for that damn boy to show at his coffee shop and sometimes he goes in random parks -he already tried going to that little wood five times with no positive results- and looks up at the trees to see if he can catch a glimpse of skinny jeans and leather boots. Nothing.

 

Usually when he is so stressed he listens to some good music to calm his nerves but today it just seems to make him even more antsy: every song on his iPod and CD's seems to remind him of Harry. Maybe it's the fact that he knows the lyrics by heart and he can understand their true meaning -at least he thinks so- or it may be the fact that he literally cannot stop thinking about him, but with every song he closes his eyes and he can imagine a scenario with him and the Nikon-boy that perfectly fits the words escaping the singer's mouth. Or not. He was listening to Bon Jovi's Always and he thought of him being shattered because he hurt Harry so he serenaded him that song, then he was listening to Michael Bublè's Hollywood and he began wondering if Harry liked Michael Bublè and this lead him into thinking of cold Christmases spent under a shared blanket with the boy on his lap, drinking hot chocolate from the same cup while listening to a Michael Blublè Christmas album. But the thing that made him spring up from his bed and flew out of his flat -earning a bewildered look from Zayn and his girlfriend Perrie- was when Your Song came up and during the lines “.. _so excuse me forgetting, but these things I do, you see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue..”_ he found himself saying “Trust me Elton, they're green, oh-so-green.”

 

He is in deep.

 

Anyway this is the reason why now he is walking towards the music shop to buy new CD's. He really needs to listen to something he doesn't know, he feels like his life is depending on it in this moment. So it's reasonable that he feels like crying when he looks up ready to push the door and he sees that the shop is closed. _It's Sunday morning you absolute idiot._

Niall really wants to cry. And he is about to do so, sitting on the sidewalk giving up with his life -he feels like a hormonal fourteen years old girl but he really needs some new music- when he remembers that Louis once told him that a friend of his -Niall doesn't remember the name because Louis knows _everyone_ \- works in a music shop: _“Niall you should go there sometimes! They have everything you could ask for I swear on my life!” “Lou, it's a 20 minutes drive from my flat”_

 

Now Niall doesn't care how long it will take him to go to that shop. He just needs new music. Right now.

 

 

He ended up going there by bus so the twenty minutes turned into thirty-eight but he doesn't care because right now he is in front of said shop - _Nick's playlist_ \- and he is going to spend hours and hours in there looking at CD after CD before deciding what to bring home with him. He takes a deep, satisfied breath, and pushes the glass door open enjoying the warmth and the unmistakable smell of CD's that engulfs him. Two seconds and he realizes that loud Rock music is playing and it takes him other two seconds to realize that there is someone who is dancing along the music -You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC- while stocking some empty shelves with new CD's.

 

Niall feels his heart do something strange in his chest because, even if the boy has his back to him Niall knows it's Harry. His curls are tamed -kind of, not so much- by a bandana, he is wearing a plain white t-shirt -exposing a good amount of black ink on the boy's left arm-, sinfully tight jeans and black shiny boots -the boy has huge feet-. Niall looks around and when he sees that Harry and him are the only people in the shop he decides to lean against the wall beside the glass door and enjoy the show in front of him crossing his arms in front of his chest. Niall barely holds his laugh when he sees Harry dropping down on his knees playing an imaginary electric guitar as soon as the guitar's solo starts blasting through the stereo, bobbing his head up and down causing some curls to escape the bandana.

Niall thinks he could watch him forever dancing along some songs while he is not aware that someone is watching him, because he can't help but think that this is the true Harry. Not that Harry is a particularly closed person but he is just so hard to read, and seeing him so free, Niall thinks that the boy his truly amazing and funny and even more intriguing -he also has good taste in music- and there is something heavy in his heart, like the need of having the boy in his arms is too much to bear and if he doesn't fulfill it right now he is not going to live another day of his life.

 

He is being a real drama queen. Maybe he should stop hanging out with Louis so much.

 

He feels something like fear of being caught -but also disappointment- when the music stops and his first thought is to go out and never come back because Harry will surely think he is a creep if he sees him here, but then another song starts and Harry is back to swaying his body in a sexier way Niall thinks. What catches him off guard is that the boy can sing, and he wonders if there is something that Nikon-boy can't do. Or maybe something that can make him less interesting. Niall needs to find this _something_ or else he'll go crazy out of frustration because he's always been told that nobody is perfect -but then he thinks that he has also been told that there's an exception to every rule, so maybe Harry is _the_ exception to this one-. _Stop it right now Niall._

Back to Harry, he thinks that it's a Beatles song -the one he is singing- and what drove Niall crazy is that every time the green eyed boy sings “.. _Come on twist and shout..”_ he stretches the word “shout” and tilts his head backwards closing his eyes and the way his voice his so raspy, together with the way he moves his head and shoulders makes Niall's gut churn with want.

But if he thought that this song would be the death of him he should have waited for the next one. He knows the song because he has it in his iPod since he was fourteen and saw the film Pretty Woman. He always thought that the song was sexy itself but now, in his opinion, Harry has taken the sexiness to an all new level.

 

The music starts and Harry seems full of a new energy when he says the “ _Uh”_ at the beginning ofthe song -and Niall just made his life's mission to be the reason of that _uh_ \- and starts shaking hips from left to right along with his shoulders and torso, putting the CD's in their place with more decision than before, swaying his body with more determined moves. Then the songs starts and hearing Harry sing like Prince is not as funny as Niall thought it would be. Nope. If someone asked him he'd say that it's hot as hell.

 

“ _You don't have to be beautiful to turn me on_  
I just need your body, baby, from dusk till dawn  
You don't need experience to turn me out  
You just leave it all up to me, I'm gonna show you what it's all about” 

 

Harry accentuates the meaning of every word with a movement of his hips and Niall doesn't know where to look at to keep his region down there at its normal seize, but his eyes keeps going back to stare at the boy's bum. There's no doubt in his mind that the boy can move and since this song is basically about what Niall wants to do to him, is a major turn on. Too much, he thinks. And the fact that sometimes Harry slides his hands on his neck or his torso has Niall groaning because of lust and frustration and because this is not the right moment to think about this.

 

“ _You don't have to be rich to be my girl_  
You don't have to be cool to rule my world  
Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with  
I just want your extra time and your kiss” 

 

_I really fucking want your kiss too_ Niall finds himself thinking when he hears Harry doing kissy noises along with Prince. It frustrates him that Harry can't miss a note even when he is singing in falsetto because it all seems hotter than it should and he wishes they were in a completely different scenario so that Harry would be aware of Niall presence and would be doing this on purpose. Niall also wanted to jump on Harry when he bent down to fill some shelves and he was shaking his bum while mimicking a 'no' with his forefinger.

Then the music goes on and Harry doesn't miss the _“Ah”_ and _“Oh-Oh”_ like Niall wished.

 

“ _You got to not talk dirty, baby, if you wanna impress me (Ah-ah-ah)_  
You can't be to flirty, mama, I know how to undress me, yeah  
I want to be your fantasy, maybe you could be mine  
You just leave it all up to me, we could have a good time”

 

Niall nearly lost it at the 'ah-ah-ah' things but when Harry says the 'yeah' in a much more sexier way than Prince he finds himself huffing a “Fuck this” detaching himself from the wall to walk towards Harry, before he realizes what he is doing at the fifth step he has taken, and goes back to lean himself against the wall feeling something that resembles anger. Then he wants to assure Harry that he already is his fantasy and wants to apologize but it's the Nikon-boy that has to leave it all up to Niall.

 

“ _You don't have to be rich to be my girl_  
Don't have to be cool to rule my world  
Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with  
I just want your extra time and your kiss

_Yes, oh, I think I wanna dance, uh_  
Gotta, gotta, oh  
Little Girl Wendy's Parade  
Gotta, gotta, gotta” 

Needless to say this is pure torture for Niall. A torture that he can't help but enjoy because now he will have more things to think about when his mind is settled on Harry -pretty much every minute- and, most of all, Niall can have more vivid pictures of the boy when he showers for example. _This is kind of disgusting, stop thinking like a horny teenage boy._

Then suddenly the music stops and there's a voice yelling: “Styles I don't pay you to dance! We have a costumer!” and a door slamming shut. Niall almost screams because of the scare, placing a hand on his heart and trying to calm down his breathing, he looks around to see who spoke but when he only sees a black door all the way across the shop from where he is, he turns back to look at Harry. Harry is returning the look and from what Niall can see he seems twice as frightened as him. Also embarrassed. He watches Harry's face go from white to red, the boy drops the three CD's he was holding because his hands are trembling and he starts looking around frantically for a way to escape the situation but they both know that there's no way out. Seeing Harry so flustered makes Niall feel in control so he starts walking towards the embarrassed boy with a fond smile on his face: Niall may want to tease him a bit but he doesn't want to scare Harry away because he can imagine how he is feeling.

“I...You..Oh...What, What are you doing here?” Harry finally manages to say even if it takes him a bit to find his voice, and even when he has found it, it sounds so small and insecure.

Although Harry is taller than Niall right now he manages to look so fragile and -Niall doesn't know how- he is looking at the blond through his eyelashes, keeping his head low.

“I needed new music.”

“And..” Harry gulps then tries again “How long have you been here?” Niall knows it's his time to tease him so he thinks about it and then replies with a “AC/DC”

“Oh God” Harry breaths out “Why didn't you stop me? I could have helped you right away!” Niall thinks Harry is panicking and he doesn't like the scared expression painted on the boy's face. He should always be happy, so Niall can see those dimples in his cheeks and that cute little blush coloring his face.

“I was enjoying the view.” he says shrugging his shoulders with the hint of a smirk on his lips.

He doesn't know where this new confidence is coming from since he is always really awkward around Harry, but he doesn't want to question it now.

Harry doesn't dare taking his eyes off of the floor and Niall doesn't like it one bit because he wants to be able to see that perfect face that keeps appearing in his mind.

 

“So..Harry Styles...” He smirks because he finally got his last name and because he swears he just saw Harry shivering after his name rolled out of the blond's mouth “I don't think we have properly introduced each other yet” He says and now Harry does look up, directing his stare to Niall's eyes. Niall is ready to smile but he stops when he sees that the look on the green eyed boy's face holds something that seems disappointment. Or sadness. Or both. He doesn't know if it's because of what he just said but he doesn't think there's anything to be sad about in his words so he keeps going “I am Niall Horan, nice to meet you” He says sticking his hand out and first, Harry seems hesitant but as he takes it Niall brings it to his mouth and ghosts his lips over it looking straight at the curly haired boy's eyes.

Now Niall can _feel_ Harry shivering and knowing that he has this effect on him makes Niall want to repeat his action again and again, maybe traveling his lips all the way up to the boy's arm.. _Okay Niall focus. You were doing great._

 

With that new confidence Niall smiles at Harry -their hands still joint- and Harry just looks at him with his mouth forming a little 'o' while Niall wants to pat himself on the back because now, at least, he made Harry understand that he doesn't want just a friendship. He needs more. His hand slowly leaves Harry's, caressing it with the tip of his fingertips “So, can you help me now?”

 

“Uh?..Wha- Oh yes, yes, sure.” Harry looks taken aback by the sudden change of air between them and Niall is thanking every possible God that his old flirty self is back.

“Do you want anything in particular?”

 

“No, not really. I just need to listen to something new.” Niall says and only now he realizes that his request is really stupid. _Something new. As if Harry knows what you usually listens to._

Harry is quiet for a second with the hint of a frown on his face before he claps his hands like an excited child and turns to Niall beaming -Niall, obviously, smiles fondly at him-.

 

“Give me your iPod.” Harry says extending his right hand towards Niall, and Niall doesn't even question the boy, he just does what he's told. The Nikon-boy looks thoughtfully at Niall's iPod, sometimes smiling, other times frowning and he even tears his eyes off of the device to look at Niall curiously a few times. Niall feels like he is under some test and he doesn't know if he is passing or failing it because he came here totally unprepared.

Then Harry gives the iPod back to Niall and walks away, disappearing behind the door where the person who yelled at him came from.

 

The blond doesn't know what to do because Harry hasn't told him anything, so he puts his hands in his pockets and looks absentmindedly through the shelves, praying that Harry will return to him.

It seems like someone is listening to his prayers because, two minutes after, Harry materializes beside him and gives him two CD's “These are two of my CD's, there's a bit of everything and nothing here is on your iPod so I think it should be fine.” Harry smiles at him “I'll come to your cafe next week so you can tell me what you think.” He finishes flashing Niall a dimpled grin and blushing.

 

Niall kind of wants to strangle the boy in front of him. It's been more than a month of Niall wishing to see him and meeting him in random places while Harry remembered where he worked. _Breathe Niall._

Then he calms down, realizing that at least, next week he will meet him for sure and this causes his heart to do happy flips in his chest. “Well thank you so much, see you next week, Harry Styles.”

 

“See you, Niall Horan.”

 

_Niall do not jump on him._

 

_-_

 

“So...did you like my CD's?” Niall turns around at the sound of the husky voice, nearly dropping the Espresso -boiling Espresso- he was making, and he sees Harry leaning against the counter taking off his hat to pass a hand through his hair. Niall never realized how long his hair is. He also never realized how much he wants to rake his hands through that mane. And maybe yank. Hard. Because of what the boy did to him without even knowing it.

 

Niall wanted new music because he needed to concentrate on something when he listened to it, something that wasn't how him and Harry could fit the lyrics. But since he is an idiot, he let Harry give him _his_ CD's so _of course_ he didn't think of the boy listening to it. Nope. Not at all. Not a single second. He didn't think of Harry sprawled on his bed with his eyes closed listening to those songs; he didn't imagine how the song would sound with a deep raspy voice singing it and he _absolutely_ didn't try to picture Harry dancing to every danceable song.

He didn't spend a whole week avoiding the song 'Kiss' like the plague because at the first refrain he already had a boner and surely he didn't spend his days waiting to see Harry. Because today is Friday -last day of work- and his shift ends in twenty minutes, so excuse him for thinking that Harry completely forgot about him.

 

“Are you having a bad day?” Harry asks timidly, voice small, looking at him with concern and -surprise surprise- blushing. Niall only now realizes that he has been glaring at the boy in front of him and he wants to wipe the frown off of Harry's face and tell him that he is alright, it's not Harry's fault and he was probably busy and how can he have a bad day when the boy who occupies his mind 24/7 is in front of him looking so cuddly with that white fluffy jumper whose sleeves are too long hiding Harry's hands. Seriously how can Niall have a bad day now?

Looking in those green eyes Niall thinks that if they were in a relationship he would forgive Harry almost immediately for everything, like, this can't be sane right?

 

“Err..”

 

Niall also thinks that he should stop thinking about relationships and actually say something before creeping the boy out. “Great!” he says but his voice comes out too strident so he clears his throat without thinking of way to die of embarrassment. “I mean, they are great, I like your music.”

 

“Good.” Harry says smiling a pleased smile and Niall can only compare him to a cat that is being cuddled. Niall wonders if he could make Harry purr... _Okay. Focus._

 

“Do you want something to eat? Drink?” he asks because he noticed Josh looking strangely at him.

 

“No I am good thanks. When do you get off work?”

 

Niall squints his eyes to look at the clock “Mmh...fifteen minutes”

 

“Perfect, then I'll wait here. I need your help with something.” And before Niall can ask him for what he needs help Harry is gone, sitting at a table at the corner of the shop.

 

 

“Where are we going then?” Niall asks as soon as they get in his car. Harry gives him the address so he can put it in his GPS and after Niall starts the car he thinks about where they are going. “Why are we going there? I don't think there's anything..”

 

“Trust me.” Harry says smiling, and Niall gives in just like that. Then he has an idea and turns on the radio smiling cheekily at the boy next to him. Harry looks at the radio and then at Niall and when he sees Niall looking at him like that he bursts out laughing, throwing his head back and patting his hand on his knee.

Niall has to slow down a bit because this is the first time he hears Harry's laugh and he thinks it's a wonderful sound. He knows he can't sound more cheesy than this but really. It's loud and raspy and Harry has his eyes closed, exposing his neck, then Niall lets his eyes travel to Harry's hand noticing that Harry's pinkie is a bit separated from the other fingers and he can't help but coo. When he realizes what he has just done he turns to look at the road and prays that Harry didn't hear him but the sound of silence tells him otherwise.

 

“I'm sorry” Harry says and from the corner of his eye Niall can see him blushing and looking out of the window.

Now. How can Niall say that it's perfectly okay for Harry to laugh because that sound can brighten everyone's day and that Niall cooed because Harry always looks so cute and adorable and that he could hear him laugh for the rest of his life provided that Niall is the one making him laugh? How can Niall say this without making his obsession for the boy so clear?

 

“No worries, I mean, it's okay, you can laugh..I..I..you're cute.” W _hat the actual fuck Niall._

At this Harry blushes so hard that Niall thinks he is going to explode. There's a moment where the only sound that fills the car is the music of one of Harry's CD's while Niall tries desperately to find something to say before the awkwardness of the situation kills them both.

And well what better topic if not school?

 

“So..uhm..what are you studying?” Niall asks expecting Harry to look at him like _seriously?_ or to reply in a bored tone, but he surely wasn't expecting Harry to light up and start talking about literature and art. Hearing the boy talking so passionately about something, seeing him gesticulating a lot, looking at Niall with those big bright green eyes, makes Niall want to congratulate himself for the choice of topic.

 

“I am sorry I'm talking too much.” Harry lets out an embarrassed laugh “What do you study?”

 

“Sound engineering” he says and that's it.

He suddenly feels a lot less interesting and way more boring than Harry. He likes what he is studying but he doesn't have anything to say about it. He is afraid that Harry from now on will see him as a dull person, with nothing interesting to say and he wishes he could talk about something the way Harry just did. He wishes he could sound intelligent and unique as Harry did seconds ago but no. Compared to Harry -who is like the rainbow- Niall is gray.

 

The car is silent when Niall stops it -the GPS just told them that they reached their destination, but neither of them makes a move to go out so Niall turns to look at Harry who is already looking at him with a thoughtful expression on his face. Niall feels mortified because he might have ruined every chances he had with the Nikon-boy but then Harry asks: “What are your passions, Niall Horan?”

 

If Niall thought he had fallen in love with the boy before, he was completely mistaken because he most definitely fell in love just now. First of all, he absolutely loves when Harry says his name. It's not in a seductive way that people -especially girls- often use when they want to hook up with him. No. It's a unique Harry-innocent way and Niall could go crazy just by hearing him say it. Then, he feels happy inside because the boy really wants to know him and maybe he didn't ruin all the chances he had. And this is the first time someone asked him this specific question. Nor Louis or Zayn, not even his parents because they think they know him, and yes, they do, but they just assume, they can't be sure. Harry just asked him the easiest and, at the same time, most difficult question ever.

He thinks about it and while he does so he studies Harry. He lets his eyes travel along Harry's jaw, his curls, his nose, his lips, his collarbones, shoulder, arms, hands and then returns to look at his lips before settling his gaze on those green eyes. He want to reply _You_ but maybe it's a bit early to say something like that: “Music...and my family I guess.”

 

Harry doesn't say anything. He smiles. Dimples prominent in his cheeks, all his teeth on display, eyes lighting up looking at Niall like a child would look at Santa Claus and Niall right now feels special, and there's a thought forming in his mind that now that he met Harry he just can't live without him. _You're just tired Niall. You can't be in love with someone you met three times. Get a grip on yourself._

 

“Come on, we have work to do.” Harry says with a sweet tone, almost a whisper.

 

“What do we have to do?” Niall asks once they enter a building, but Harry doesn't reply and start running up the stairs so Niall can't do anything but follow him. They stop on the third floor, where Harry opens a door to reveal a big white room with different kind of lights and a girl inside.

 

The girl runs up to Harry hugging and thanking him and Niall feels a little bit jealous and embarrassed. The girl is beautiful. Skinny, with long blond hair and blue eyes and she also dresses very well. And well, she is a girl so..he can't compete against her.

 

“Niall this is my friend Cara, the one you'll be posing with.” Harry says grinning while the girl -Cara- sends him a smile and then disappears behind a screen. Thank God she is just a friend of him and they are here for..what? “Posing?! Harry no!” Niall says whispering so Cara doesn't hear. He doesn't want to offend her.

 

“Niall please, she wants to promote a new collection of her clothes and she needs a male model, and I can improve my skills as a photographer. Please Niall, please!” Harry takes two step towards Niall and the blond feels a bit crowded because the green eyed boy is looking at him pouting and a picture of the puss in boots in Shrek comes to his mind and he is about to give him when another picture pops up. Harry behind that camera who is taking photos of him, and those piercing green eyes judging him and...no he can't do this.

 

“Harry I can't I'm sorry, I...I am not good with those things, I feel uncomfortable and...and you said you need a male model! I am not one!”

 

“Well you sure look like one.” Harry grumbles, pouting at him.

 

Niall is sure he misheard this “What?” He breathes out.

 

Harry huffs “Oh don't act like you don't know it. You're beautiful, you're fit and you're funny and everybody loves you and you have the perfect looks to be a model because your skin is pale and flawless and your cheeks are rosy and you have perfectly dyed blond hair that are perfectly styled every time I see you, and you have that dimple on your chin that makes you hotter and cuter at the same time and, your lips and your hands and those fucking blue eyes. So don't tell me you can't be a male model.” Harry is breathing heavily now and they are almost chest to chest. Niall can't believe what he has just heard. If Harry thinks that of him then Niall would be an idiot not to make a move.

 

Niall can see the exact moment when Harry realizes what he has just said and he has to stop him before he runs away “Harry I-”

 

“Haz!”

 

They turn around towards the voice at the same time and before Niall can understand what's happening, Harry is sprinting towards this new boy and now he's clinging to him like a koala. “Liam what are you doing here? Oh God! It's been ages you twat!” Harry says smacking the boy in the shoulder and then burying his head in the crook of the boy's neck.

Niall has this sudden urge to take the boy's head and bang it against the wall several times. He also wants to tear Harry off of him and be the one he is clinging to. His hands are trembling because right now he is so jealous that he could punch someone -read: Liam-. Who gave him the right to ruin their moment like that? Niall felt like he could have finally kissed Harry, his dreams were about to become true when this guy enters the room and Harry goes running to him.And couldn't Harry tell him to wait a minute? Who is this boy?

 

Liam, is hugging Harry tightly and whispering something in his hear and then he kisses Harry's temple looking up at Niall. Niall makes sure to give him the angriest scariest glare he can because Harry is his. He doesn't know who this boy his and he wouldn't care if he was Harry's boyfriend. He wants Harry. He needs Harry. He will have Harry.

 

He clears his throat to make his presence known at the couple and Harry flushes looking from him to Liam “Right, Niall this is Liam, Liam this is Niall.” the two of them shake hands and they both try to give the strongest shake, looking in each others eyes and Niall hopes that Liam can read the determination in his blue ones because he won't give up on Harry.

 

“If you don't want to pose, Liam can do it.” Harry says shyly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He feels the tension too.

 

“No need to, I'll do it.” He says looking straight into Harry's eyes. “Where do I find my clothes?” he asks taking off his jumper, revealing his naked torso while Harry points out another screen with a trembling finger while his face is completely red and he tries not to look at Niall's chest.

Niall doesn't know why Liam is watching the scene with an amused smile but if he finds it funny better for him.

 

He confidently walks towards the screen because he knows for a fact that his back muscles are pretty good. He wants Harry to enjoy the show.

 

A jealous Niall is an unstoppable Niall.

 

-

 

If someone asked Niall about his last two weeks he would reply 'Wonderful' followed by a dreamy sigh. He saw Harry almost every day because he kept visiting him during his shift at the coffee shop and Niall didn't care if Harry was always followed by Liam.

When he talked to Liam that afternoon he couldn't help but feel disappointed because after all he was a nice guy but when the brown eyed boy said something along the lines of “My girlfriend would love to see this” he hit a new level of nice and Niall decided that they could be friends.

He noticed that Liam is just really protective of Harry, like a big brother, and that he doesn't want many boys to go near his friend, and trust Niall when he says that it doesn't take much for Liam to make himself clear: he just needs to show off his biceps and Harry will be left alone.

Although Niall is not jealous anymore he can't help but wish that Harry would turn to him to seek protection.

 

He knows Harry and Liam have been friends since 7th grade when Liam moved to Holmes Chapel with his family and Harry offered to be his friend his first day of school. He knows that there's a reason of Liam being so overprotective because sometimes he tenses up even when it's Niall that goes near Harry and he just wish he knew more about the burly haired boy. He also noticed that Harry changed since Liam has been back, he seems happier and more excited about anything but Niall thinks that he is like that only to not worry Liam -the blond is sure Liam knows this too- because sometimes Harry looks so sad and vulnerable, zoning out for minutes until someone calls his name to bring him back to reality.

So Niall wants to be the one hugging Harry when he looks sad, wants to be the one to watch over him, wants to be the one who knows his deepest secrets. It may sound selfish but Niall needs to be one of the most important person in Harry's life.

 

In these two weeks Niall learned lots of things about Harry that made the boy look even more special in his eyes. First of all Harry has an unhealthy obsession with bananas. He is able to eat five of them in a day and wanting more. He doesn't know any good jokes and he keeps on telling the ones he knows making Niall crack up anyway because he is just so proud of himself when he hears someone laugh because of him. He doesn't own any normal -as to say not sinfully tight- jeans nor any decent shoes. His pinkies are always a bit separated form his other fingers -and Niall can't help but point it out to Harry every time he sees it -trying hard to fight the urge to take one in his hands and play with it-. He can sing very well but he never took singing lessons because he always thought that lessons could turn singing into a boring thing. He absolutely hate being at the center of attention and that's why he likes photography: he can capture everything with his camera and he is in the picture but at the same time he isn't. He absolutely love literature and Niall now knows that if Harry is not taking photos he is surely reading a book.

Niall has also learned that Harry can't play any sport. He is too clumsy and awkward and he trips on air and sometimes it seems that his arms and legs are too long and his feet and hands too big so he ends up with his bum on the floor more often than not -and every time it happens Niall falls in love with him a bit more-.

Harry absolutely loves his family and his cat -Simba, yes he is a sucker for Disney movies and cartoons in general- and every time he talks about them he lights up like a Christmas tree.

 

Niall loves him. He really does and now every time he sees Zayn and Perrie he thinks he feels a bit jealous because he wants that with Harry, he can't even tease his friend anymore because he knows how it feels to be in love now, earning a “Our Nialler became a softie” from Louis.

Thinking about his mates he thinks it's time they get to know Harry so Niall can finally confess -he knows Louis will never leave him in peace after this- his feelings for the boy, needing the support of his best friends.

 

“Earth to Niall, Earth to Niall.”

 

“What?” he asks sounding like someone who just woke up.

 

“You've been zoning out for the past ten minutes mate, you sure you okay?” Zayn asks him concerned.

 

“Oh yes sorry, I'm fine.” Niall says smiling at him because he is fine really. He is just in love.

 

“You sure? Anything you wanna tell me?” Zayn asks locking gaze with him and Niall has to look away because he knows he can't lie, but he can't even try with Zayn because his friend knows him like the palm of his hand. “C'mon Niall what is it? Me and Lou have been worried about you lately, you've changed -not in a bad way but still-, you keep zoning out and you barely spends time with us. What happened? Talk to us, please.”

 

Niall feels guilty. He didn't know he was worrying his friends, he didn't even realize he changed but now that he thinks of it it's true: he was spending less time with them because of Harry. He needs to tell his friends about the boy, and he needs to do it today.

 

“I'll tell you both today after we finish here, promise. Now...why are we here again?” he asks smiling sheepishly at Zayn who huffs in return. “We are here to finally take the picture of your party, he should be here any moment now...oh look! He's here!” Zayn points to the door and Niall turns around to see Harry entering the cafe -not Niall's since today is Saturday and he doesn't work. They chose the one next to their house since it's nearer-.

He turns to look at Zayn with a confused expression but his friend is waving at Harry and gesturing him to come over so the next thing he knows is that Harry is sitting down next to him and Zayn giving his friends two envelops -which, he thinks, contain his photos-.

 

Niall doesn't understand what's happening.

 

“Harry how are you?” Zayn asks politely and Niall wants to hit someone.

 

“Err..fine thanks..sorry for being so late but I've been busy...I...I'm sorry.” His voice is too shrill and Harry doesn't dare looking at him, hasn't even acknowledged his presence yet, so Niall knows Harry knows something is not right.

 

“It's no problem mate I understand...how much do I owe you?” Zayn asks taking out is wallet.

 

“Nothing...we..we are fine. I..I have to go..I..” Harry stands up but Niall stops him by holding the boy's wrist in his hand.

 

“Why didn't you tell me?”

 

He is angry. He feels betrayed and he doesn't care if Zayn is looking at them with a question mark printed on his face. He won't let Harry go until he receive and acceptable answer. Why did Harry lie to him all this time? Why did he keep it a secret? He knows maybe he is over reacting but he just feel so betrayed, so confused. Was it so hard to tell him that they met before? What happened? But most of all why?

Niall needs to know. Needs to know to placate his feelings because an angry Niall is not a nice Niall.

 

Harry looks at him, gulping, he seems so small even if he's towering over Niall and when their eyes meet Niall can only see sadness: “Because you don't remember.” Harry whispers and frees himself from Niall's grip running out of the shop.

 

Niall doesn't know how to interpret Harry's words but all his anger vanished as Harry looked at him that way and sounded so sad, like he was the one being betrayed. He sees that Harry left his Nikon and his hat on the table so things must be pretty serious, he looks at Zayn who is still looking at him, expecting an explanation but all Niall manages to tell him is: “Tell Louis to come to ours as soon as he can.” and then he is collecting Harry's things, going out of the shop.

 

-

 

“Let me get this straight: you have been obsessing over this Harry boy for more than a month and you are telling us this _now?_ ” Louis says pointing an accusing finger at Niall. Zayn has been quiet for a long while now.

 

“Yes...I am sorry..”

 

“You better be. I thought you were going to tell us something like this the moment it happened. Not after a month because you've been caught.”

 

“I..I know..I just..” Niall lets out a frustrated sigh “I wanted to, but then I fell in love with him and I just kept thinking about him and- don't you dare laughing at me Louis- I completely forgot to tell you guys, but I swear I wanted to!”

 

“So, our Nialler is in love, have you heard that too Zaynie?” Louis asks grinning at Zayn and after a moment Niall finds himself under the weight of his two best friends who are crushing him, laughing out loud.

 

“Oh god did you hear his voice?! He is sooo whipped! He sounds just like you!” Louis is nearly crying and now it's Niall's and Zayn's turn to glare at him.

 

“Ha ha very funny Lou. Now can you two help me to come up with a plan to understand this mess?” he grumbles trying to disentangle himself from his best friends' bodies.

 

“Don't worry, we will let you have your happily ever after.” Louis says teasing him some more.

 

They stay silent for a while, Niall looking at Harry's hat and Nikon and Zayn and Louis looking at the pictures of his party. Then he hears his friends mumbling something to each other, looking at the pictures and then mumbling some more and he sees an idea forming in their minds as the expression on his faces changes from confused to hopeful and excited, then they turn to look at him grinning.

 

“What?”

 

“Don't sound so down lover boy, look at the pictures in Harry's camera.”

 

“What? No! I don't want to invade his privacy!”

 

Zayn scoffs: “Listen Niall. He told you that you don't remember, so something must have happened between you two. Now, since in these photos there isn't even one of you two together try to look at the one in the cameras to see if there's something okay?”

 

So Niall does it. He takes the camera, careful with it because he knows how much Harry cares for it and then he switches it on. The first one he sees is of Simba, Harry's cat. Then there's a sunset, the sea, then there's one of Harry, sitting on the grass with a flower crown on his head. Niall has to stop here for a moment. He doesn't know if it's the light, or maybe he is really that smitten but the picture took his breath away. He knows he would look at someone strangely if he saw them wearing a flower crown but harry looks beautiful.

He is smiling at the camera and those lilac flowers bring out his eyes and soften his features and his heart stops for a moment, aching with need. He can't lose Harry.

 

So he starts to look through the pictures faster until he finds something. “Guys, I found them.” there are fifteen photos or so of him and Harry together. One of them dancing outside, five of Niall kissing several parts of Harry's face making him blush, one of them sitting down with Harry's head on his shoulder, others of them being idiots and making silly faces at the camera -Harry constantly blushing- and, at the end, one of them kissing.

He gasps and he hears his friends saying “Oh.”

 

Now he can understand why Harry didn't say anything. He wants to hit himself for drinking so much that day. He desperately want to know what they said to each other and why they kiss and how everything happened but he doesn't remember anything -as Harry pointed out a few hours ago- and judging by his friends' reaction they don't either.

He keeps scrolling through the pictures, he sees the ones that Harry took in that little wood, lying down and that branch and then he has to stop again. He thought Harry had shown him all the pictures taken that day for Cara but he didn't. In this camera there are pictures of him that Niall didn't even know Harry had taken. Niall drinking a bottle of water, Niall smiling at someone, Niall getting dressed, Niall's hands, his eyes, and pictures where Niall was with Cara but Harry cut her off.

 

“Well mate, it seems like you aren't the only one with a crush here.” Louis says smiling at him.

 

“Guys you need to help me.” He pleads and feels like crying .

 

They spend the rest of the day trying to come up with a plan but every time there was something off in Niall's opinion: too banal, too impossible, too formal, too  _ whatsoever.  _

They have just finished dinner and are back on the couch when Louis gasps: “Niall you told me that he likes Disney movies yeah? You could like, build a pillow fort with blankets and lights -you know those things you see on the internet sometimes- and watch a movie..I think he could like something like that.” Louis says blushing a bit and shrugging his shoulders.

 

Niall gets up and attacks Louis with hugs and kisses: “Yes! You are a genius Louis! How come you don't have a girlfriend? And listen here guys I could like, take a photo of my address and of a clock or something like that to make him understand where my place is and what time he has to be here, and put his hat and those photos and his Nikon in front of his door so he can come here.” Niall says excitedly smiling at his friends, looking for their approvation.

 

“I think you should take the Nikon, that way he has to come for sure because I bet he wants it back.” Zayn suggests.

 

“Yes you're right! Yes!” Niall jumps. “I need to text Liam. Ask him where Harry lives.”

 

While they all wait for Liam to reply they watch a football match on TV but as soon as Niall's phone lights up they read the message: “ _ Campus, room 235, why?”  _

 

Niall doesn't reply him and he is about to say something when Zayn interrupts him: “I can put his hat and the pictures in front of his door. I found out that he goes to my University so it shouldn't be so hard to find his room.”

 

“I demand a group cuddle.” Says Louis before Niall can thank them both. And they stay there on one of the couches of his and Zayn's flat, with their arms wrapped around each others and Niall knows that he couldn't ask for better friends.

 

Now he just needs his soulmate.

 

-

 

“Bye Niall! Good luck with Harry and let me know how it goes!” Zayn says closing the door of their flat, directed to his girlfriend's house, leaving Niall alone.

 

Three days has passed since he last saw Harry and if everything went following his plan it shouldn't pass one more. He should see him in ten minutes.

 

To say that Niall is nervous would be the understatement of the century, he has never done something like this before and he never thought he would be in this position in his life: a serious relationship has never crossed his mind before he met Harry.

It took him almost an hour to decide what to wear because, even if the date is at his house he doesn't want to look like he doesn't care, but he also doesn't want to exaggerate, so at the end he opted for light blue skinny jeans and a white shirt with green sleeves, styling his hair in a quiff.

He looks around his living room and he's pleased of what he sees: Louis helped him building the fort, insisting that with five sister he is a master -he was right-, and it's really beautiful with that white blanket as a roof and those light that seems like the one he puts on his Christmas tree apart from the fact that these don't change colors, then there's a mattress and six pillows so they can lie down and watch the movie -Love Actually because Niall remembered overhearing Liam complaining that they saw that movie a thousand times and Harry replying that he would watch him a thousand more since it was his favorite-. Speaking of the movie Niall checks if the battery of is laptop is full. He checked it ten minutes ago but one can never be too sure. 

 

Then the doorbell rings.

 

Shit. He goes to the door and takes two deep breaths before he opens it. His first thoguht is that Harry has become even more beautiful than he was three days ago. He is wearing a dark purple jumper with his usual black skinny jeans and black shiny boots but what takes Niall's breath away is that, for the first time, Harry has let his curls down and Niall wants nothing more than to touch them.

“Hi.” Harry says with the hint of a smile “I really liked the way you asked me to come here.”

 

Niall grins at Harry's words: “Glad to hear it, comein please, and you can leave your shoes here by the door.”

 

Harry says as he is told and then they both enter Niall's living room and Harry gasps. “Niall I..You, you did this for me?” he asks breathlessly “I..I'm sorry for the way I reacted and if I lied to you I just...you didn't need to do this for me, I, I wasn't even mad at you, I..Niall what?”

 

Niall can't help but laugh because of Harry's rambling: “Harry it's okay, really, I really wish I remembered what happened and I feel an idiot and I understand why you didn't want to tell me what happened I mean, I should have remembered. Now come on, I built a fort for you.” Niall says cheekily winking at him.

 

Harry blushes but tells Niall to stop: “I need to tell you something.” He takes a deep breath and Niall goes back to him taking Harry's hands in his and looking at him, waiting for what he has to say: “I reacted that way because I like you. In all my life I've only been in one relationship, when I was seventeen, and I discovered that the boy I thought I loved was just using me and he didn't really care about me. It really broke my heart because stupid teenage me thought that I was never going to find love again and then you appeared and, that night we talked so much and then you kissed me when I told you that the party was brilliant” Niall blushes really hard at this, remembering his conversation with Alex “and I knew you were drunk but I thought you would remember anyway...” Harry trails off, not sure what to say anymore, but it's okay because Niall doesn't need to hear anything more.

He takes Harry's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing him to look at Niall and when their eyes meet Niall is overwhelmed with how much he cares about this boy.

 

“I will never hurt you Harry, not on purpose at least, and we can take things as slow as you want them to be, but please know that I really like you too. Now let's go watch a movie, I have a surprise for you.” he finishes smiling. He turns off the lights -earning another gasp from Harry- so the only source of light is their fort and then they go inside laying down with their backs against the pillows and covering themselves with a duvet.

 

“This is so cool.” Harry says giggling and when Niall opens his laptop revealing that they're about to watch Love Actually, Harry turns to him looking as happy as ever and literally jumps on Niall hugging him and saying “Thank you, thank you, thank you” in the crook of his neck.

Niall sinks his nose in Harry's curls, holding tight onto him and closing his eyes to lose himself in the feeling of having Harry in his arms. A feeling that he dreamt for so long and that now is real, and it's the best feeling in the world.

He presses play and Harry is about to climbs off of him when Niall lets out a tut: “Nu-uh mister, you're staying here now.” and to accentuate his words he grips Harry tighter. The boy giggles a bit more and shifts a bit to find a comfortable position on Niall's lap.

They end up with Harry's bum on Niall's lap, his head on Niall's right shoulder and the computer on his stretched legs so they can both see it comfortably, Harry's right hand on Niall's chest while Niall's right hand keeps stroking his curls and his left one keeps tracing circles with his thumb on Harry's hipbone, under his jumper. 

 

When Harry laughs out loud as Hugh Grant does a happy silly dance, Niall can't resist anymore so he captures Harry's lips with his own, swallowing the sound of his laugh. Harry stays still for a moment but then kisses Niall back and it's everything Niall imagined and more. It's slow, sweet and tender, no teeth or tongue, just their lips locking and them breathing the same air. Harry's hands are gently placed on Niall's shoulders and Niall has one hand on Harry's back and the other one is still on Harry's hipbone, still tracing circles with his thumb.

 

And maybe it's not Christmas, maybe they aren't listening to a Michael Bublé's album and they are not sharing a hot chocolate, but they are kissing and cuddling and it's everything Niall could have hoped for and more.

 

 

 

-THE END-

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you are reading this, I love you.


End file.
